Shamed thieves post community centre raid on youtube

The bizarre crime took place at the Muirhouse Millennium Centre, at Muirhouse Medway, at 4.30pm last Wednesday.

One of the men distracted a wheelchair-bound volunteer at the front desk, while the other snuck into the kitchen area, stealing £155 from a locked till and a single packet of bacon from the freezer – despite there being another nine packs inside.

Staff at the centre have now posted CCTV footage capturing the theft on YouTube in a bid to shame the pair.

The video appears with the message: “This is not a rich centre. The money that was taken goes towards running the clubs and paying the bills so the thieving scumbags should be ashamed of themselves – stealing from children and old folk.

“If you know him let the police know!”

Centre manager Peter Airlie said: “The older man started to talk to the volunteer at the front desk. He said one of them was just out of jail and they had thought the community centre was the housing association, as he was trying to find somewhere. The other one went through to the cafe area and took money from the till and bacon from the freezer.”

The pair were then seen getting on a bus at Pennywell Road in the direction of Ferry Road.

Mr Airlie added: “We just really wanted to see them named and shamed.

“They’ve taken liberties with someone who is wheelchair bound. It’s just the lowest of the low.”

One of the suspects is described as a white male in his mid-twenties, 6ft2, of heavy build with short brown hair, clean shaven and wearing black, thick rimmed glasses.

He was wearing a light blue and white Adidas jacket with blue stripes down the arm and dark jogging bottoms.

The second man was aged between 40 and 50, around 5ft4, with a local accent, of slim build, had a shaved head with a receding hairline and a “prominent chin, forehead and a weathered face”.

A Lothian and Border Police spokesman said: “Anyone who has any further information should contact the police.”